Lesbians Sizakele Sigasa and Salome Masooa were murdered, execution style, in July 2007. Their bodies were later found in a field in Meadowlands, Soweto.
In April 2008, Eudy Simelane was gang-raped, beaten, stabbed 25 times in the face, chest and legs, her body left in a roadside creek. Simelane was a star soccer (football) player, an out lesbian and gay rights advocate. Simelane was the victim of what authorities are calling “corrective rape,” a practice where men rape women to “cure” them of homosexuality, a growing problem in South Africa where men see lesbian women as a threat to their manhood.
These are just a few of the stories that have made the news.
The issue of corrective rape is most pronounced in poor Black communities. Gay rights group Triangle's 2008 research revealed that, while 44% of white lesbians from the Western Cape lived in fear of sexual assault, 86% of their black counterparts felt the same. And women who are attacked, fear going to the police because they fear being outed to their communities or that their claims won’t be taken seriously.
Even when the crimes are reported, little action is taken. ActionAid, a NGO whose mission is to fight poverty in Africa, reports that between 1998-2009, 31 recorded murders of lesbian women were reported and there has been just one conviction for these crimes.
Although South Africa recognizes gay rights and gay marriage, it does not specifically prosecute “hate crimes.” According to ActionAid, for every 25 men accused of rape in South Africa, 24 walk free. Prosecuting these crimes is simply not a priority.
An ActionAid study in 2009 reported one Cape Town lesbian and gay support group says it is dealing with 10 new cases of corrective rape every week, with numbers rising fast.
In a press release, Zanele Twala, Director of ActionAid South Africa, said: “So-called ‘corrective’ rape is yet another grotesque manifestation of violence against women, the most widespread human rights violation in the world today. These crimes continue unabated and with impunity, while governments simply turn a blind eye.”
With the world descending on South Africa to partake in the World Cup, participating countries can put pressure on South Africa to enforce its constitution and guarantee equal rights to all of its citizens. That includes the right to live free of fear because of who you are and the right to justice for victims of brutal hate crimes.
